The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-11-02
VACCINE VIRUS.
HOW 1T IS PREPARED FROM
HEALTHY CALVES.
The New York Board of Health's
Operating Room-CalYcs on the
Table - VaccinatinG Them
and Collecting the Virus.


which, perhaps, does more to keep down
the dreaded winter scourage Smallpox
than anything else that the Board OF
Health has devised. 1t is there that all
the vaccine virus used in New York Is
obtained. The loft extends about twenty
five feet on Mott street and runs back
about eighty feet, and is divided longl-
tudinaly into stable for the calves and
an operating room. Ranged along the
northern part of the stable arc twenty
tiny stalls, and back of these are the cribs
whence the animals take their food. And
it is good food that the calves get, for
the better condition the calf is IN the
better the vaccine will be and the less
likely are injurious effects to follow when
it is used on q human being. This stable
is in charge of competent groom, who
devotes himself to the care of the animals,
watching any changes in their condition
and treating them accordingly. He, too,
sees that they are given all the hay and
Indian meal they can digest. At the
south of this stable is the operating room,
the torture chamber of the animals when
they are subjected to the lancet of the
vaccinator. At the side next to the table
is the bench upon which the animal is
stretched when undergoing the opera
ton, and about the room are shelves
upon which lie hundreds Of goose quills,
treated with virus, drying so as to be
ready for use. This room is airy and
we'll ventilated.
The calves al come from the big stock
yard, at Sixtieth street and the North
River, where the men know about what
the doctors want and take much trouble
to pick out the particularly healthy ami
mails. Then they are brought to the
lower floor of the stable where the vote
rinary surgeon assigned to the vaccina-
tion bureau makes Il careful examination
of the animal The animal, if pro-
nouuced in fit condition, is trotted up
stairs and given one of the little stalls in
the top story. There he is allowed to
remain until he has fed well and is feel
ing as though he had at last found COM
foitable quarters. Then he is hauled
out by the nose and tail to the operating
room. There he is held quietly until
one of the attendants buckles q strap
around his left hind leg. This strap,
attached to Il pulley rope, is given a
strong pull by an attendant and up goes
the calf on the vaccinating table with a
thud and snort of decided displcasurc.
But his struggles are utterly useless, for
by this time heavy band is buckled
over his nose and neck and forelegs.
Then he is at the mercy of the
surgeon. But the latter does not
vaccinate at once. He fathers
the inside of the calf's hind legs
and then carefully shaves away all the
hair. Then the animal is allowed to go
back to his stall and rest awhile until
the vaccinator has arranged his virus and
his vac inc "spades." These arc long
points of bone and are used on the calves
because they will hold moro of the virus
than the ordinary quill. Because they
are big and hold more than sufficient
virus to vaccinate an infant, they are
kept exclusively for tha animals. After
q rest of an hour or so the calf is trotted
out of his stall again AID again tossed
over on its side upon the vaccinating
board. Then the real work begins. The
doctor takes big siX-bladed lancet, and
holding the knives together, cuts the
shaven skin of the animals as to just
pierce the outer layer. Then the opcr-
ator uses his lancet at right angels with
the original cuts, and so abradcs the skin
that it will readily receive the virus from
the "spade." But the "spade is not
used at first. The work begins thus: All
the blood is carefully cleaned away from
the abrasion, and then quill holding Il
small amount of virus is rubbed upon the
spot. Then comes the "spade," which
holds about four times as much virus as
the ordinary quill. The virus from this
is rubbed in carefully, and then the calf
is led back to his stall. AS rule four
abrasions are made upon the shaved skin
of the animal.
According to the statements of the
physician in charge of the vaccine stable,
the calves show no evil effects from the
vaccination. Their appetite is unim-
paired, in fact they eat more than they
did before the operation, and show none
of that lassitude infants and adults often
do after vaccination. Their allowance
of food is increased. In this way, the
calves are treated for about seven days,
when the virus has done its work, and
again the animal is placed upon the
operating board, and then the important
business of collecting the virus begins.
For doing this, the quilts and "spades"
are prepared for the reception of the
virus. The quilts which are taken from
Russian geese are purchased from an i'm
porter, who charges the Health Depart
ment SO thousand for them. They
are tied up in lundlcs of 100, and sent
to the vaccine stables, where men cut
them into common lengths. and scrapc
the ends so that they will hold the virus.
The animal is placed upon the operating
board as before, and the roughcned end
of the quill used to take the vaccine. Then
comes the drying process. and subse
quently the treated quills are put into
hermeticaly sealed jars and stored in an
ice closet. They are then ready to be used
on the no It delicate skin for the preven-
tion of smallpox. The number of quills
of virus which can be obtained from
calf range from five hundred to thou
sand, and these are either used by the
physicians in the vaccination bureau or
by doctors whose patients do not care to
be treated by the public physicians. :,
When the Board of Health has finished
with the calves, they are ordered to the
stock yards where they are either sold
or slaug ughtered. AS the calves used are
principally the healthiest that come into
the market the former fate generally
awaits them, but farmers are somewhat
shy of vaccinated calves and will not